


Happily Ever After

by Nutella_enthusiast



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, Harry is his servant, Louis is the son of a lord, M/M, Mentions of alcoholism, happy ending though I promise, house fire, like super angst, mentions of child abuse, royal au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-01-13
Packaged: 2018-01-08 13:56:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nutella_enthusiast/pseuds/Nutella_enthusiast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boy is tiny when Louis first sees him - probably no older than nine or ten, and Louis thinks he's the most beautiful creature that he has ever seen in all his thirteen years of living. He wants him, and he tells his father this as their carriage passes him by. His father just laughs, and tells him that he'll get him another servant boy as soon as they get home.<br/>Louis crosses his arms and pouts for the rest of the ride, because he doesn't want just another servant boy - he wants the beautiful curly haired boy with the wonderful dimples, and skin that looks like it would be soft and creamy despite the fact that it appears to be covered in soot and other things that Louis' mother would have described as, "not proper to discuss in polite company."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:**

  * For [greedytongue (ohboylondon)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohboylondon/gifts).



> Oh my gosh this is so late I'm so sorry. I tried and tried and tried and it just wouldn't happen.  
> Also, I know it's not really set during a specific historical event, but I tried to make it somewhat Victorian-esque, so hopefully it works. I'm really sorry if it's not what you were expecting.  
> Thank you so much to my wonderful [beta](http://dangbritish.tumblr.com), who edited it literally at the last minute.

The boy is tiny when Louis first sees him - probably no older than nine or ten, and Louis thinks he's the most beautiful creature that he has ever seen in all his thirteen years of living. He wants him, and he tells his father this as their carriage passes him by. His father just laughs, and tells him that he'll get him another servant boy as soon as they get home.

Louis crosses his arms and pouts for the rest of the ride, because he doesn't want just another servant boy - he wants the beautiful curly haired boy with the wonderful dimples, and skin that looks like it would be soft and creamy despite the fact that it appears to be covered in soot and other things that Louis' mother would have described as, "not proper to discuss in polite company."

********

Almost two years have passed by the time Louis sees the boy again. He’s slightly less tiny and significantly more beautiful, but Louis recognizes him instantly. He wasn’t sure it was possible, really, for this boy to become more beautiful, but somehow, he seems to have managed it. His skin is dirtier, his dimples are deeper and his is hair curlier, and Louis still wants him. There is no father with him this time, as his carriage trundles along, away from Calder Castle, but he isn't sure what to say to the boy, so he rides on, looking back until the dirty side street is completely out of his sight.

********

After that, Louis finds himself looking for the boy whenever he gets a chance. He makes his driver take the same route home from the castle every time he goes, even though the boy is only there about one in every four times Louis passes the alley. He even starts riding his horse around the town for hours on end for no purpose other than to see him (although he tells his mother that he thinks the fresh air is good for his health). He even walks around the marketplace sometimes, dressed in his servants clothes, hood drawn up, just to see the boy, who he's discovered spends a lot of time sitting at the meat pie stand with a tall dark haired man who Louis dislikes immensely for no reason that he's quite sure of.

The only people he's told about the boy are his adopted brother Liam and his servant Zayn, both of whom he has grown up with. Liam laughs and tells him he's being "a bit creepy, mate," and Zayn just smirks and nods in that way he does, looking away when Louis glares at him.

********

The first time Louis actually talks to the boy, it’s the day of his engagement. He’s just barely seventeen now, and he’s on his way home from Calder castle yet again. He has spent the carriage ride staring at his hands, trying to be excited about this wonderful opportunity for his family - he is engaged to the princess and only heir to the throne after all. Yet despite all this he feels nothing but dread, imagining spending the rest of his life with someone he finds so completely dull. He is with his father, who is smirking mysteriously, and Louis isn’t sure why, but he doesn’t think it has anything to do with the upcoming nuptials.

He glances out the window of the carriage, and his gaze stops on the pale, curly haired youth, leaning against a wall and laughing, presumably at something his blonde friend who Louis has seen with him at the marketplace a few times has just said. Louis feels an irrational surge of something in his gut. He wants to be the only one making the boy laugh like that and he doesn't know why. He's surprised that just seeing the boy can still affect him like this, even though it's been four years since he first saw him.

Before he can stop himself, he finds himself shouting, “Stop the carriage!”

The cab grinds to a halt, and he leaps out before his father can even ask what he’s doing, walking up to the curly haired youth with what he hopes is a friendly looking smile on his face.

"You there! Boy!" he calls, and the boy stops laughing and pushing himself away from the wall. 

"Me?" asks the boy, looking shocked to be in the presence of someone so clean and well dressed.

“You,” he says, before mentally slapping himself. Could he sound any more ridiculous? “What’s your name?” he tries again, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Harry,” says the boy, pushing his curls out of his eyes.

“Harry what?”

“Just Harry,” says the boy.

“Well, just Harry,” says Louis, smirking cheekily. “How would you like a job?”

“A- A job? I have a job.”

The blonde boy laughs, and Louis almost jumps, having completely forgotten he was even there. “I don’t think sitting next to Nick at the pie stand and eating the pies that he’s trying to sell really counts as a job mate,” he says, and Louis almost starts again at his strange accent.

“Alright, point made," huffs the boy - Harry, before turning back to Louis. "What kind of job are you talking about?” he asks.

"Oh, you know, cooking, cleaning, bathing me, the like," says Louis, winking. Harry blushes, eyes wide, and his blonde friend guffaws loudly.

"I- er-"

"I'll pay you enough to buy your own horse within a month."

"Alright," says Harry quickly - or, as quickly as it seems he is able to. There's something about the boy's voice that makes him sound like he has all the time in the world. His friend keeps laughing, apparently extremely amused by the whole situation. "Can Niall have a job too?" he asks, gesturing at the giggle blonde.

Louis considers saying no, but Liam has been complaining about needing someone to take with him while he goes on his long hunting trips, and Harry looks like he might actually say no if Louis does, so he nods. "Of course," he says. "My brother can always use some more help."

********

Louis presents Harry and his friend to his slightly confused but fairly accepting father and takes them straight to his house, jumping out of the carriage with the two boys when his father tells him he has a few more errands to run. 

"Welcome to the Tomlinson Manor," he declares with a flourish.

"Tomlinson," says Harry flatly. "As in Louis Tomlinson."

"The very same," he says with a wide grin.

"As in, the Louis Tomlinson who's been courting the princess?" asks Niall.

"Engaged to," says Louis, with just the faintest hint of a grimace. Niall’s mouth opens, as if to ask something else, so Louis grabs Harry by the wrist and pulls him towards the house, flinging the door open. Harry and Niall’s jaws drop in unison, but Louis’ focus is drawn to the middle of the room, where a brunette boy is sitting, sprawled across Louis’ favorite armchair, which he must have carried to the center of the carpet just for this.

“Liam!” cries Louis, running forward and jumping into his best friend’s arms just as he stands up, clinging to him like a koala. “You’re back! How was hunting?”

“Brilliant,” says Liam, flashing a grin and removing the (empty) pipe from between his teeth. Louis suspects that he stole it from their father. "Who's this then?" he asks, gesturing to the two boys, still standing in the doorway and looking awestruck.

"Harry and Niall. Picked 'em up in the marketplace," he says, climbing back down Liam and placing his feet back on the ground. 

"Curly haired boy you picked up in the marketplace, huh?" asks Liam, laughing. "How... Unexpected."

Louis smacks Liam on the back of the head, and tells Harry and Niall to follow him to their rooms.

********

The rest of the day passes in a blur, and before the boys know it, they've eaten dinner, the sky is darkening, and Louis is telling them to get a good nights rest for the long day that they have ahead of them tomorrow. Zayn laughs. He's never had a long days work in his life, and he's been working for Louis since they were 11. Louis drags him away, grumbling something about no good servants belonging in the kitchens.

********

Harry is jolted away from the best sleep he ever remembers having several hours later, by the sound of two voices coming from downstairs. He glances over at Niall, who is still out like a light, drooling a little on his pillow, and smiles. Niall could probably sleep through an invading army and not get up until he smelled bacon frying. Harry tiptoes to the door and over to the stairwell, listening carefully. He knows it's rude to eavesdrop, but something about the tone of the argument worries him.

When he finally gets near enough to the stairs to figure out what's going on, the first thing he hears is Louis.

"...don't even like her, you know that! How am I supposed to be expected to spend the rest of my life with her?"

"Louis you know what this means for our family! There needs to be someone to provide for your sisters when I'm no longer able to," Harry isn't sure, because he only heard the man's voice once while in the carriage, but he thinks that it's Louis' father.

"Oh, like you provide for them now? I haven't seen you at home for more than an hour since Christmas!"

"I've been busy Louis! you know that!"

"Oh really? Because if I didn't know better, I'd think you had a mistress or something!"

There is the unmistakable sound of the palm of a hand connecting with a face, followed quickly by the dull thump of a body colliding with a wall. Harry may not be able to see them, but he can picture Lord Tomlinson's large hand flying out and slapping his son, and Louis stumbling backwards into the wall, shock on his face and tears just beginning to form in the corners of his eyes. Harry wonders if this a common occurrence. He wonders if Louis is blinking his eyes quickly to get rid of the tears, not wanting to seem weak. He tiptoes back into his room, wondering why the thought of Louis being hurt hurts him so much.

********

Harry wakes up the next morning with a start to a grinning face and sparkling blue eyes leaning over him, only inches away. He almost lets out a shout before he feels a hand cover his mouth and sees the face draw back still grinning. "Good morning boys!" shouts Louis, pulling back the curtains to show the sun, just rising above the horizon. "Are you ready for the hardest day of your life?"

He is acting so excited, so happy, that Harry might have thought that the previous night had just been a dream, if it weren't for the faintest hint of a bruise that he could see on his right cheek, just under those piercing blue eyes.

********

Harry and Niall eat a quick breakfast with Louis and Zayn, and they can immediately feel themselves growing comfortable with the two older boys. Louis is spontaneous and loud and Zayn turns out to actually have a great sense of humor once you get used to his seemingly reserved personality and darkly brooding good looks (Even Niall admits that he’s attractive, and he’s never looked at another boy that way). Before they know it, all four boys are talking and laughing as if they’d known each other for years.

All too soon, they’re interrupted by Louis’ father, passing through the kitchen on his way out the door, reminding Zayn of all the chores that need to be done that day. Zayn nods briskly, suddenly all business, and gathers the empty breakfast dishes, piling them in the dish tub and grabbing a bucket to get some water from the pump out on the street.

“So where are you two from?” asks Louis, looking at Harry and Niall over steepled fingers. “You can’t be from London with an accent like that,” he adds, nodding at the blonde.

“Well I was born in Cheshire,” says Harry, mouth in a straight line and eyebrows drawn together slightly, as if he's concentrating very hard on making sure he tells his story correctly. “I was sent to a workhouse here when I was eight and my mum died, but it didn’t really agree with me, so I ran away a few months later, and I’ve been mostly staying with my friend Nick since then. Then Niall moved here from Ireland... what, three years ago?” he asks, glancing over at his friend.

“Four, mate,” says Niall, chuckling, and Louis is fairly sure that he never actually stops laughing.

Harry speaks so slowly that by the time he’s finished his story Zayn is already back with the water, and Louis doesn’t have the time to ask any more questions.

“Well, I’d better get going then. Need to get cleaned up and everything,” he says, getting to his feet. Harry rises too, moving to follow him.

“Mate, what are you doing?” asks Louis, grinning.

Harry stops, shuffling his feet and staring at the ground, mumbling something along the lines of, “you said... yesterday... bathing...”

Louis glances at a confused looking Zayn and an amused looking Niall before bursting out laughing. The Irish boy starts laughing too, and Louis sinks back down into his chair, face red and eyes watering from laughing so hard.

“What?” asks Harry, looking bewilderedly from Louis to Niall and finally to Zayn, who just rolls his eyes, shrugs, and goes back to washing dishes.

Louis finally manages to take a deep breath and calm himself down, his face slowly returning to its natural color. “I was just joking about the bathing me thing, I think I’ll survive alone with a tub of water. You probably don’t know this, but I’m actually an alright swimmer.”

Harry looks even more confused, so Louis smiles and ruffles his hair affectionately. “Just... stay here and help Zayn with the washing, yeah?” Harry nods, and Louis heads back up the stairs, chuckling to himself.

********

He comes back to the kitchen half an hour later, scrubbed pink and dressed in freshly pressed clothes to find Liam sitting at the table and ordering Zayn around good naturedly. Louis is pleased to see that Zayn seems to be completely ignoring him. He’s so happy and the day’s gone so well that he doesn’t even get annoyed when Liam shoots a meaningful look at Harry and asks if Louis is planning on going to the marketplace later.

Louis’ good mood doesn’t go away for a month. It turns out that Harry isn’t just gorgeous, he’s also sweet and interesting and tells astoundingly awful stories that Louis can’t help but enjoy. Niall is fun too, but there’s something about Harry that just draws Louis to him.

The boys are best friends within a week, often staying up late talking about anything and everything, and sometimes not talking at all. The days pass in the blink of an eye, and suddenly, it's almost summer. Not much changes within that time, until one night in early July, well after midnight, Harry just leans in and kisses him softly, pulling back quickly and grabbing his bottom lip between his forefinger and thumb, a thoughtful look on his face. Louis knows he should be surprised, or offended perhaps, but all he can feel is a swooping sensation in his stomach and a need to kiss Harry again.

"Sorry," says the younger boy. "I just-"

Louis cuts him off with another soft kiss, and Harry makes a pleased noise in the back of his throat and kisses him back fervently, letting out a low, almost purr like noise as Louis cards his fingers through that beautiful, soft, curly hair that he's been wanting to touch since he saw the boy in the marketplace four years before.

*******

The days continue to pass, as quickly and wonderfully as summer days in London can, which is to say, quicker and more wonderful than the boys ever could have imagined. They pass in a blur of bumping knees and shared smiles and whispers and stolen kisses, and Louis has never been happier.

Eventually though, September comes, and with it comes more work and less time together, pouring rain and biting winds, and a highly stressed, heavily drinking Lord Tomlinson.

The wedding is all on track to happen on the day that Louis turns 18, and he doesn't think he's ever been more miserable. He finds himself seriously considering just running away with Harry, Niall, Zayn, and maybe Liam, if he could convince him (which he definitely could; Liam's always up for a good adventure), but he knows how bad that would be for his family, so he grits his teeth, kisses Eleanor, gets fitted for his suit, and is generally unhappy. As bad as running away might be for his family though, nothing could be as bad as what happens the day before the wedding.

No matter what country you're in or who you are, if you're not the King, it's generally frowned upon to be caught sleeping with the King's wife. So when Lord Tomlinson is found in the queen’s bedchambers by one of the chambermaids at 10:53 AM on December 23, the day before the wedding, while Louis and Eleanor are going over last minute plans for the reception, all hell breaks loose.

He is forcibly ejected from the room by 10:56 by three of the king’s royal guard, and by 11:31 both he and the queen have been sentenced to death by beheading for the crimes of adultery and betrayal of the crown.

The engagement is called off immediately, and Louis feels guilty for feeling slightly relieved. He never wanted to marry Eleanor, but he hadn’t wanted it to end like this either. Lord Tomlinson may be heavy drinker and a hard hitter, but he is still Louis' father, and Louis still loves him.

Even if he had felt relieved though, it is gone the moment he arrives home. He knew that the city surrounding there castle was full of insane nationalists, the kind of people who would form an angry mob at the slightest provocation, but he didn't think that the news could spread this fast, or that they would react quite this badly. He sees the house burst into flames before his very eyes as he rounds the corner onto the street, turning into a raging inferno before he can even get close enough to process what's going on. Two people run out the front door, and Louis jumps out of the carriage, running towards the house to find Zayn and Liam, coughing and shaking and covered in bits of ash but otherwise apparently unharmed.

His mother and two sisters follow, a thin cut on Lottie's cheek and a half burned doll clutched in Fizzy's fist, tear tracks making perfect lines down the layer of soot coating their faces. Niall is next, still clad in that ridiculous apron he always insists on wearing when he cooks, holding the bottom of it over his mouth so he doesn’t breathe in the smoke. Suddenly, there is a loud bang from inside, as the windows shatter and fire comes shooting out the front door. Louis feels all of the air rush out of his lungs, and sinks to the ground, defeated.

“Harry,” he finally chokes out. “Where’s Harry?”

The other boys look at each other, unsure of what to say, and finally, Niall crouches down next to him. “He was still asleep when I got up to make breakfast,” he says, tears streaming silently down his face, and Louis understands exactly what he’s not saying. He barely processes the gentle hand that Niall puts on his shoulder, too shocked to speak or scream, too shocked to even cry.

Finally, his mother kneels down next to him and places a hand on his other shoulder. “Lou, darling, we have to go. They’ll be back if we don’t."

"I can't," says Louis, voice flat and emotionless. "Not without..." His voice breaks. "I can't."

His mother gives him a few moments before taking him by the arm, Niall lifting him by the other, and pulling him to the carriage, and he follows, silent, face blank and feet dragging. Once they are in the cab, he closes his eyes tight and leans against Niall's shoulder, wanting nothing more than to wake up and find out that this is all just an awful dream.

********

He isn't sure how long he sleeps for, but when he wakes up he's still in the carriage, the field that they are passing isn't one that he recognizes, and the ache in his heart tells him that there was no way that that morning had been a dream. He closes his eyes again so that he can escape, if just for a little while, and dreams of the beautiful curly haired boy with the wonderful dimples, and the skin that's soft and creamy now that it isn't covered in soot and other things that Louis' mother would have described as, "not proper to discuss in polite company."

Eventually they reach a small town where no one knows who they are and buy a small farm with the money they get from selling the carriage. After the trip Louis doesn't sleep or eat for almost three days, and even once he does start eating and sleeping again it is irregular and much more uncommon than is healthy. Within two months his fingers are like twigs, his elbows and collarbones stick out at sharp angles, and there are huge, dark, bruise like shadows surrounding his eyes.

He spends days at a time locked in his room, speaking to no one, only emerging when Liam threatens to break down the door. Then he'll come out, force a smile, and spend a few days pretending to not be heartbroken, until someone says something that triggers him, and he flees to his room again.

The days pass slowly and uneventfully now, the trees regrowing their leaves and bright flowers beginning to sprout in the fields and in the cracks in the bricks of the house. Louis remembers Harry saying that spring was his favorite season, loving the new start and bright colors everywhere.

He shuts the curtains and sits alone in the dark.

Finally, when six months have passed since the fire, and Louis loses control. He thought he had been doing better, but one morning he sees Liam and Niall's hands clasped together beneath the table, and his breath catches in his throat.

He is on his horse and announcing that he's going back to visit the royal city, and he's gone before anyone can try to convince him it's a bad idea. He knows the day will just end in tears, but he doesn't know what else to do. He needs to see somewhere that reminds him of Harry, even if it's just one more time. He thinks maybe if he completely immerses himself in everything that is left of the boy, maybe then he'll finally be able to accept that he's gone.

He also thinks that it's a long shot, but there isn't anything left that he hasn't tried yet.

********

Louis takes the long route into the town, avoiding the burned remains of the house, terrified of what it will look like now. He goes to the marketplace where he first saw Harry instead, riding down the alley where they shared their first conversation, and doesn't even bother trying to fight the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. They may be appearing a little sooner than he expected, but he lets them fall silently anyways, wiping them away impatiently only when they begin to impair his vision.

He ties up his horse at the entrance of the street of merchants and starts walking.

The next place he visits is the pie stand, and it seems that Harry's friend Nick has found a new assistant. The first thing that Louis notices is how much he looks like Harry. He is maybe two inches taller, with longer limbs and a less graceful gait, more like a baby giraffe learning to walk in comparison to Harry, who had padded around quietly like a cat, but besides that, he is the boy's spitting image. He has the same curly hair and creamy white skin and dimples and Louis has been seeing bits of Harry in everyone ever since the fire, but this is getting ridiculous.

Louis walks forward and clears his throat, terrified to get his hopes up, but the boy turns around and his perfect pink lips fall into a perfect little o shape, staring at Louis for a moment before he breaks into a perfect grin, perfect dimples on full display.

"Lou," he breathes out, barely more than a whisper, but Louis has no trouble hearing it, and it's as if the entire world has disappeared and all that's left the two of them. "Is it really? I can't- How did you- God, Lou."

Louis isnt sure what exactly to do, so he does the first thing that comes to mind. He slaps him.

"Ow!" says Harry, holding his hand to his now pink cheek, more from shock than actual pain. "What was that-"

Louis cuts him off by pulling him down into a kiss. Just as Harry begins to kiss him back though, he pulls away. "You! Complete! Arse! I! Thought! You! Were! Dead! For! Six! Fucking! Months!" He shouts, each word punctuated with a punch to the shoulder.

"Ow!" says Harry again, stepping back. "I'm sorry! I went out to get your birthday present, and by the time I got back the house was burned to the ground and everyone was gone. What was I supposed to do?"

Louis is speechless again, still in shock, so he says, "I told you I didn't want anything for my birthday."

"Yeah, but I love you," says Harry, shrugging as if it was obvious. Louis pulls him down for another kiss.

"I love you too," he mumbles against Harry's lips. "I love you so fucking much."

They may still have things to discuss, plans for the future to figure out, people who might never accept them being together, but finally, for the first time in months, they have each other, and that is what matters to them.

The day may end in tears, but at least they're not the kind of tears that Louis expected.

**Author's Note:**

> You can fine me on tumblr [here](Blueisjustspoopy.tumblr.com)


End file.
